Livestock loss by the Spotted hyena (Crocuta Crocuta) in and around a waste duming site in Northern Ethiopia

Abstract

carnivore conflict is one of the lea ding constraints to biodiversity conservation efforts. We investigate d livestock depredation in two sub districts (Debre - Genet and Debre Tsehay) that were located nearby a waste dump and in two sub districts (Worki - Amba and Dabanow) that were located far f rom the waste dump. We hypothesized that livestock depredation would be higher in villages located close to waste dumping place where hyenas are more abundant at night than in villages tha t are located at relatively far places. Structured interview was use d for randomly selected 277 respo ndents from four sub - districts [ Debre - Genet (n=30), Debre - Tsehay (n=31), Worki - Amba (n=140) and Dabanow (n=76). A total of 158 (57%) respondents claimed livestock depredation and a total of 535 livestock were lost over the years 2009 - 2013. In total , livestock depredation was higher in Worki - Amba and Dabanow sub - districts (67% n=360) than in Debre - Genet and Debre Tsehay sub - districts (33 % n=175). However, in intensity livestock depredation was higher in the vicinity of waste dump than in sub - districts that were far from the waste dumping site. The findings demonstrate that livestock depredation was higher in the village s that were located close to the waste dumping site . This might be due to the availability of human organic w aste in the waste dump.